Five months, none down. And only 40% in the market.
quant Mutual Fund’s qsif launched the Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund on 21 April 2026. From then to 31 August, its Regular Plan Growth NAV rose 14.69%. Every month so far has ended higher than it started.
That headline number gets attention. The part I find more useful is how the fund got there, because for most of that time a large share of the money wasn’t exposed to the equity market at all.
First, what kind of fund this is
qsif is the Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) brand of quant Mutual Fund. SIFs are a newer SEBI category. They’re run by mutual fund houses but allowed more flexibility than a regular mutual fund, including limited short positions through derivatives. That comes with a ₹10 lakh minimum and higher risk.
Every month since launch
Absolute change in the Regular Plan Growth NAV:
July did most of the work at +8.11%. August was much quieter at +0.90%. The early part of September has also been strong, but the month isn’t finished, so I’ve left it out.
It wasn’t fully in the market
Through August, roughly 40 paise in every rupee carried equity market risk. The rest sat in debt, commodities and hedges. For anyone who tracks it, month-end portfolio beta was 0.14, meaning the fund moved much less than the market as a whole.
What it’s allowed to hold
The name “active asset allocator” is literal. The mandate gives the fund manager very wide ranges:
Maximum unhedged exposure in equity and debt is capped at 25%. And the fund does use that freedom. Silver was 8.96% of the fund in June, and it was gone by July.
What it holds now
Top five holdings as on 31 August 2026:
The tilt in August was towards healthcare and financials, after leaning towards capital goods in July. That’s another sign of how quickly the portfolio can change from one month to the next.
The fund is growing fast
Fund size in ₹ crore at each month end.
The fund went from ₹66 crore at the end of May to ₹420 crore at the end of August, with most of that growth in August alone.
What I keep in mind
- Five months is a short record. Much of the return so far came from a single month, July.
- Wide mandates mean big shifts. The fund can move between equity, debt and commodities quickly, so what it holds today may look very different in a few months.
- Low exposure is a choice, not a rule. The 40% figure was August’s average. The mandate allows the fund to be far more exposed than that.
- It’s a SIF, not a regular mutual fund. The ₹10 lakh minimum and higher risk mean it isn’t suitable for every portfolio.
Sources: Returns from Regular Plan Growth NAV, quant SIF historical NAV records. Portfolio, exposure and fund-size figures from qsif factsheets, May–September 2026 editions, as at each stated month end. All returns are absolute, not annualised.
Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
Past performance may or may not be sustained in the future. Investments in SIF involve higher risk including potential loss of capital. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
Ashish Jain · AMFI Reg. MFD · ARN-294841 · investingtfd.com